As we find the United States in an election year, many touchy issues have surfaced in debates and media. One of the most controversial issues being that of immigration. Specifically, what should be done about the 11 million undocumented immigrants currently residing in the U.S. The United States needs to see major reform in immigration in the form of a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Not only do illegal immigrants help the economy, our current laws tear apart families and force the U.S. government to expend valuable resources on a futile effort. The immigrants coming to the U.S. are not here on vacation: they come for a better life, and in doing so contribute to the U.S. economy. Some believe that a pathway to citizenship would only give impetus to more immigration into the U.S, this is unfounded. The people entering the …show more content…
72,000 immigrant parents who claimed they had U.S. born children were deported in 2013, forcing these children into government care. Tearing apart families is, simply put, a “cruel and unusual punishment.” There is, of course, always the sentiment that the parents of said children should have thought about the consequences before entering illegally and starting a family. Well, this is quite easy to say when the speaker is not faced with the same conditions of the illegal immigrant. The argument can be boiled down to one ethical question: would you steal bread to feed your starving family? These people say yes. Not only do current practices of deportation hurt the families, they hurt the U.S.: it is estimated that for deporting even a single person, it costs the government $23,482. Instead of expending these resources to remove people seeking a better life for them and their children, why not create a way for these people to gain legal status and allow them the pursuit of happiness as Americans? This is exactly what a pathway to citizenship would